The Earls of Leicester are among the 2017 IBMA Awards Entertainer of the Year nominees, along with Balsam Range, Flatt Lonesome and others; the Earls also received nods in the Instrumental Group of the Year and Album of the Year categories. The Punch Brothers are also nominated for Instrumental Group of the Year, while Front Country have received a nod for Emerging Artist of the Year. A complete list of 2017 IBMA Awards nominees is below.

During the 2017 IBMA Awards nominees announcement, which took place on Wednesday (July 26), the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame's 2017 inductees were also revealed: Hazel Dickens and Alice Gerrard, Bobby Hicks and Roland White. Additionally, Norman Blake, the bluegrass music publication Bluegrass Today, Louisa Branscomb, Fletcher Bright and Silver Dollar City will all received Distinguished Achievement Awards this year.

The 2017 IBMA Awards ceremony will take place on Sept. 28 in Raleigh, N.C., during the annual World of Bluegrass conference. Béla Fleck and Abigail Washburn will co-host the event.